The Final Kiss
by truelovelastsxo
Summary: When Eli runs off the stage during the school play, Clare goes looking for him. Eclare oneshot; Better then it sounds, I PROMISE. :


**First fanfic ever. Sorry if its not the best. I tried. :)**

"Eli!" She shouted. "Eli! Are you back here!". She waited a few moments before she heard a sniffle coming from a nearby dressing room. She ran in to find what she had been looking for. There sat Eli, script in hand, crying his eyes out.

She couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. Seeing this boy, the boy who just a few months ago, was happy as ever. She couldn't help but feel like it was her fault he was so sad. She had never wanted it to end the way it did. She had never meant to hurt him so much. But she did. And now she's standing here, contemplating on whether to say something.

It's funny because just a few months, if she had seen him like this, she would already be holding him, stopping his sorrow. But she can't do that now. Why you ask? Because she is his sorrow. These past few weeks, seeing her with her new "boy toy" as Alli liked to call him, it hurt him. It hurt him so much. Did he ever admit it? Of course not. As far as she knew, he was happy as ever with his new "muse".

Finally, she got the nerve to speak up.

"Eli. Are-are you o-okay?" She asked nervously. She waited patiently. And moments passed before Eli finally lifted his head, and looked at her, straight in the eyes.

"Why would YOU care if I was or not?" he said, his voice sounding more raspy then usual.

"Because, believe it or not, I still care about you. Just because we broke up doesn't mean I don't still care, you know." She said, I little offended.

Eli stood up with a look of rage on his face, "Ha, could've fooled me." He said, sarcasm present in his voice. "What's that supposed to mean!" She asked, kind of loudly, rage growing in her voice.

Eli started walking towards her, growing angrier with every step he toke. "I mean, flaunting your little "friend", or whatever you like to call him, around school like I won't notice! I mean bringing him to the play tonight as your date and throwing him in my face like he won the prize, and I didn't! Do you even know how much that hurt me Clare! Huh!** DO YOU**!" He shouted.

Clare instantly started shouting back, the guilt that lurked inside her just moments ago, now replaced with rage. "Oh no you don't! Don't even start putting this all on me! Cause you've been doing the exact same thing! Flaunting Imogen around like she's some kind of hero! Showing her off like she's some kind of superstar in front of me! You don't think that hurt! To see you and her working together! Flirting together! Having all kinds of inside jokes with each other! Doing all the things we used to do together! Calling her your muse in front of me! You don't think that broke my heart into a million pieces? Knowing that I'd been replaced! It hurt like hell! I was the worst pain I had ever felt! **SO DON'T YOU EVEN PUT IT ALL ON ME! DON'T EVEN TRY**!" She shouted, angrier then Eli had ever seen her before.

To say he was surprised was an understatement. Here he was, thinking she had moved on and clearly she hasn't. He thought shoving Imogen in her face would make her somewhat jealous, he never expected this though.

She seemed so angry and hurt. But at the same time, so did he. He was hurt just as much.

And in that moment, they both realized something. The pain they've been feeling these past few weeks, how hurt they've felt, was all because of them. Because of their actions. Not Imogen's or Jake's, no. Just theirs.

They were trying so hard to make each other jealous, that they hadn't realized how much pain they were causing one another. How much they were hurting each other…how much they were hurting themselves.

Every time Clare would kiss Jake, or Eli kissed Imogen, they weren't just hurting each other, but they were hurting themselves.

All these weeks of being so heartless and bitter to each other, all the anger and sorrow they were keeping inside, had finally came out.

And in that moment, even though each of them were still boiling with anger, they were also both somewhat…relieved. They had both finally been completely open with each other. They had finally let their feelings out. And it felt so damn good.

Finally, Clare spoke up, but what came out of her mouth was not what Eli had expected.

"I-I'm sorry." She croaked out. "I'm sorry for leaving you at the hospital, I'm sorry for breaking my promise, I'm sorry for trying to make you jealous, I'm sorry for everything I ever did to hurt you Eli. It wasn't my intention, you know, to hurt you. But I did, and I'm so, so sorry, for it. Everyday I live with the guilt of leaving you in that hospital bed. Of not staying there and letting you explain. But I-I was scared. I had never seen this side of you. You had always been the strong one. I was just, I was-"And what Eli did next, shocked Clare more then anything.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her with so much passion, so much love that she instantly moved with his lips. Before you knew it her hands were entangled in his hair and he had moved his hands from her shoulders to her hips. It was the most passionate kiss they had ever shared with one another.

And in that moment, with there lips connected, every memory flashed through their minds. Every laugh, every tear, every kiss, every moment they had ever spent together, was flowing through their minds like a movie. Everything from their first meeting to the fight that had happened just moments ago. They were remembering it all. As if they were being reunited after years apart.

But in that moment, they were also finally forgiving each other. For all the pain they had caused one another. All the sorrow they had caused each other to feel. It was all forgiven.

But in that moment, during that kiss, they were also doing something else. They were finally saying goodbye. Saying goodbye to everything they had gone through. Every memory. Saying goodbye…to each other.

And when they finally pulled away, they were both smiling. And not a grimace or a smirk, but a true, genuine smile. And for the first time that night, they weren't surprised at all. They were both content. Because after all these weeks of trying there best to avoid each other and trying to move on and forget each others existence, they had finally just...stopped.

They had finally stopped, and let everything out. Every word, every feeling, was expressed in that moment. And now, staring deep into each others eyes, they had finally found what they had been looking for all these weeks. They had found calmness, freedom. And no more words had to be spoken.

Because in that moment, they both knew that everything had been said in that kiss. They also knew that it was the last kiss they would ever share. It was a goodbye kiss. It was a kiss to finally let go of each other and move on.

But it was also a kiss to remember. To remember what they had was something special. Something they would never forget. And they wouldn't forget it. They would always be each others first loves.

But it was in the past. They had both changed. And they knew that a love like theirs was once in a lifetime. Something that could never be replaced. But it was also something that could never be repeated. It was a love that didn't need a second chance. But they would carry it with them forever. They would carry each other with them forever. In each others hearts.

After moments of unbreakable starring and silence, Clare spoke. "You'd better get back out there. It sounds like the crowd is getting a little impatient."

Eli let out a light chuckle, "Guess I should, huh?". Clare moved out of the doorway to let him through, but before he walked away, he said one final thing, "Goodbye Clare."

And as he started walking away, he heard her silently say, "Goodbye Eli."

**Sorry if its not the ending you wanted. I feel like if Eclare never got back together, I would at least want this to be the way they ended. Or at least similar to this. Thanks for reading though, and let me know what you think! :)**


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